No life security of Rohingya people in Arakan

Thursday, February 14, 2013  Arakan Burma,

Commentary by Fayas

Repeatedly, ruthless stories on Rohingya people in Arakan under the racist Burma’s security forces are taking since long. There are many tragedies that remain untold. As human beings, regardless of the one’s religion, a human being deserves his/her honor and dignity of being human at the place where he/she is present.

Today, every Rohingya has his/her own tragedy concerning their relatives or friends in the unruly Arakan where killing and torturing of Rohingyas, torching of their properties and raping their women and girls. Burmese security forces and some Rakhine extremists have been committing grave crimes against Rohingya minority in every means.

Whenever the security forces enter a Rohingya village, innocent Rohingya villagers run away for their lives everywhere possible. At least one member from almost every family, especially in Maungdaw south is missing and whereabouts are not known. They become preys of security forces.

Rohingyas in southern Maungdaw have been passing days and nights with acute difficulties for months. Rohingyas women are not safe from Burmese security force—Nasaka, army, Sarapa, police and Hluntin. The honor, dignity and life of Rohingya women are threatened.

Frequently, the Nasaka or army accompanied by Natala villagers went to Rohingya villages of Maungdaw south and extorted money from the villagers after arrest and torturing.

After the violence of June 2012, in a hostile incident at Lamba Guna village of Maungdaw south, a father was shot to death as he tried to save his daughter from being assaulted by police. Many villages, especially Bagonna and Nurullah of Maungdaw south, have the tales of such assaults to Rohingya women and girls. The Rohingya women are not safe from Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government. They are the armies with civilian clothes and all the powers are controlled by them in the guise of democratic performance.

On February 12, four Rohingya villagers of Ludine village who were arrested on February10 by Nasaka personnel were killed in the local Nasaka camp because of severe torture.

The victims were identified as— Nazir Hussain (35), Ms Hansoma  Khatun (30), Amir Salim (30), and Nadu (50). They all belong to Ludine village of Loung Don village tract of Maungdaw Township.

Females were also arrested in the absent of their husbands, sons and brothers in the house. Many Rohingya villagers (not known exact figure) were arrested by security forces from Loung Don village tract of Maungdaw north regarding the killing of one Rakhine man and three others wounded Rakhine men on February 10.

But, the dead bodies were not handed over to their parents or relatives and were buried to unknown place. Hearing the news from a Nasaka aide, the relatives of the victims went to the local Nasaka camp of Nasaka area No.5, but the concerned authority did not show them and said they are present in the camp though they were brutally tortured to death.

Besides, yesterday, the Nasaka personnel accompanied by Nasaka Director Col Aung Naing Oo (Rakhine) and army also went to the Lamba Gona village (nearby Ludine village) under the Nasaka area No.5, at about 12:00 mid-night and arrested other five villagers. The Nasaka Director stopped at Loung Don Nasaka camp while the Nasaka personnel arrested the villagers. The border security forces want Rohingya villagers in an unstable condition as directed by the local state government authority and central government, otherwise, they don’t dare to commit any crimes against the Rohingya community as they have the chain of command.

The Nasaka and police are also trying to arrest more villagers from —Khazir Bill, Ludine, Nai Tha Pru, Hati Para, and Pruma village. The authority threatened the villagers to be present in their homes; otherwise they will take stern action against the villagers. As a result, villagers are in panic-stricken position. Villagers are now living in the forest for fear of arrest and torture by the concerned authorities.

Villagers those who were arrested by the  Nasaka and police regarding the incident of February 10  at Nyaung Pyin Gyi Rwa Thit  village of  Loung Don village tract under Maungdaw north are being harshly tortured in the camp. Subsequently, there will be more dead villagers in upcoming days.

On February 10, at night, a group of unknown armed group with Nasaka uniforms went to the Nyaung Pyin Gyi Ywa Thit (Rakhine village) with   automatic rifles and killed on Rakhine (native of Sittwe) and wounded three other local Rakhines including U Ba Tin. He is a rich man of this village. Maybe, this was done by Nasaka personnel or ALP (Arakan Liberation Party) members to create problem between two communities or to give more pressure to the Rohingya community. At this moment (the critical situation for Rohingyas), Rohingyas do not dare to kill Rakhines, They have no arms and ammunition inside Arakan.  Some of the ALP members were arrested with arms inside Arakan by the security forces during the violence of last year. But, the authority let them free later. The ALP members entered Burma from Bangladesh.

Before the incident, a Nasaka Commander of Maungdaw Township asked the Rohingya villagers to be very cautious because of Rakhines’ illegal activities that may cause another event.

In 2004, in Gujarat State of India, 52 Hindu travelers by train were killed by unknown criminals, but it was accused to Muslim people of India. Regarding this, thousands of Muslim people were killed by the Hindu extremists supported by the Minister Modi’s Sate government. However, after 3 to 4 years later, it was proved by the court of India that Muslims were not involved in the killing of Hindu travelers. It was deliberately done by some Hindu extremists to uproot the Muslims from Gujarat. India is a democratic country, so truth was appeared later, but Burma is not a democratic country.

In the event of Hati Para of Maungdaw north on February 10, four children (aged 3 to 11) were brutally slaughtered by unknown criminals and their mother was also abducted. The children were slaughtered by a knife in a paddy field, about half-mile away from their home. But, the knife was very sharp, said a villager after seeing the cutting marks of their necks. After slaughtering the children in the field, the dead bodies were sent to their home again as previous position. It is a very strange.

But, yesterday, their mother of four children was recovered in a Banana garden while she was drinking water from a stream, but she was mentally disordered. This Banana garden is only one mile away from her house. On information, police went to the garden and arrested her and brought to Bawli Bazar police camp and forced her to show her knife, which she used to slaughter her children. But, she rejected that she had no knife.

Authorities are trying to get a full confession from her that she had slaughtered her four children. But, she denied. Villagers said that how she could slaughter her four children without any blood staining on her clothes. There was no spot of blood when she was found.  At present, she is at Maungdaw police station.

Yet, it is unfortunate to see the ruling party and opposition NLD’s Suu Kyi having a common view on the issue of Rohingyas.

A four points of President Thein Sein’s regarding the Rohingya issue — prejudice, education, employments and family planning— are neither the major factors that caused the violence against the Rohingyas and ensuring displacements nor the solutions to the conflicts. It is a kind of President’s two-faced remark on Rohingya issue.

Rohingya Leaders, politicians and all the concerned quarters have the right and responsibility to immediately respond to stop arbitrary arrests and torture of innocent villagers of Maungdaw north and south. Government tries to destroy all Rohingya villages in Maungdaw.  The most important and necessary options are to immediately taking action on IDPs to rehabilitate them to their own places with the security for life and property and together giving access to UNCHR and AID workers with full security.